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The Fabric Design
REVOLUTION!
There probably isn't a single
industry that hasn't been touched, enhanced and revolutionized
by computer technology in the last 15 years. The easy availability of powerful computers
right on our desktops has meant creative engineering leaps are
made every day. The art of fabric design has
not escaped the trend.
The Old
Way
Look through your closet and notice
the patterns that have been printed on some of the fabrics you
find there. Traditionally, patterns are printed on fabric like
images are printed on paper. Each color in the design is
"burned" into a printing plate, which is mounted on a cylinder
on the press. As the fabric passes under the roller, the
imprint of that color is transferred to it. Colors build up, much like repetitive block
printing, to create the final design. Since
these large presses have a finite number of rollers, the
designs are limited to that number of color impressions -- for
instance, a large fabric press might have 16 "plates" to lay
down color.
It takes a great deal of time and
expense to prepare a fabric press for printing a roll of
cloth. Designs have to be developed, the colors divided onto
separate plates, inks or pigments matched to each color, and
so forth. As a result, most
factories require a minimum of at least a few thousand yards
of fabric to be printed of each design. This
is great for the general market, but for interior decorators,
fashion designers and people craving the unique or unusual, it
severely limits the choices available.
- Intrigued? Read
a step-by-step description of how fabric is printed at
Cranston
Village, a popular brand name on fabrics
sold in mass retail stores across the
country.
Enter Ink
Jet Technology!
The pieces of equipment on your
desk that make using a computer so productive (and fun) have
made their way to the fabric design industry with fantastic
results. Digital Fabric
Printers (like the one pictured here)
operate much like your ink jet
printer, and they have just as much flexibility when it comes
to color and design. A head moves back and
forth over the fabric, laying down the four basic colors
(black, cyan [blue], yellow and magenta) which make up all
4-color process printing. Varying amounts of each of the 4
colors can be combined to produce literally millions of
colors. Using a digital printer,
it's now possible to produce a single yard of unique fabric --
usually in a matter of days. If you can design
it on your computer, they can print it.
There are still things to be worked
out in the area of digital fabric printing, though. The main
one is the ability to print quantities of fabric quickly. The
technology can produce special-order fabrics in a hurry for
design mock-ups, display purposes, etc., but not the massive
runs that traditional fabric printers can produce once they
have the plates ready and the presses are up to
speed.
Read More
About It
You can do
it, too!
Ever wanted to wear something so
personalized that you knew no one on the planet would have a
duplicate of it? It's possible, and without doing an iron-on
transfer with it's attendant stiffness and plastic-like
non-porous result. You can order
cloth swatches and "carriers" that enable you to pass silk,
cotton and other fabrics through your ink jet printer
today. The sky is the limit as far as design
goes for this. If you can dream it, and can create it in an
art program on your computer, you can output it in all it's
glorious color. (For once, getting printer ink on your
favorite shirt will be a plus!)
The printed swatch can then be sewn
into a garment design, added to a quilt or other decorative
piece, framed, or otherwise displayed.
Try it
yourself!
- Dharma Trading Co. has
prepackaged pieces of silk and cotton for ink jet printing,
as well as full instructions.
- McGonigal Paper & Graphics
has "carriers" that adhere to fabric cut to size,
and enable it to go through a standard ink jet printer.
Check out the pictures and see how easy it can
be.
Evolution is sure to continue on
this front in years to come, and just as it always does, such
evolution will lead to increased availability of the
technology to everyone who wants it. Keep your eye on this one; it won't be long
before we find ourselves wondering how we ever put up with
"mass produced" fabric prints so
long! |
